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Galore Darling: Weyes Blood Loses Innocence On Her New Album

Natalie Mering has been creating incredibly complex and dramatic sounds as Weyes Blood since the tender age of 15. Like Mering’s frequent moves across the country, her sound continues to seamlessly evolve over the years (from acoustic folk to chaotic classical tones). As a young adult, mature beyond her years both musically and in spirit, Mering addresses the truths of adulthood on her upcoming new album, The Innocents (out October 21 via Mexican Summer). We chatted about her new album, embracing change and the perfect Fall binge.

[Photos by Shawn Brackbill ]

by: Shannon Kurlander

Tell us about your musical background: Did you grow up performing classically, with your family or just playing in your room?Natalie Mering: I was in choir in high school but yeah, I taught myself in my room.

What is the first song you remember learning?
The first thing I remember learning was E Minor. I would just play E Minor, G then E Minor. Just those two chords over and over. The first song I learned was the first song I wrote. Unfortunately I can’t remember that far back because I started playing guitar when I was really young.

Your music really sounds like it’s from another time completely. What kind of music do you draw inspiration from?
I draw from,specifically, early music: choral music written before Bach said we should use perfect fifths, which is commonly used in early music because which makes it sound kind of archaeic and old-school. You can find that as a common thread in a lot of music, a common ancestor, in the music that I find most inspiring.

You live in New York now…what lead you here? What were some stops along the way?
I lived in a lot of different places. I lived in Kentucky, Baltimore, Portland and Philadelphia. I guess I’m probably more from Pennsylvania. I also lived in California. My parents moved around when I was young but mostly I moved around a lot. I lived in a tent in New Mexico for a month and that was fun. That was really exciting. The whole country is amazing. It’s cool to experience all the different elements of it.

Tell me about making your new album, coming out October 21. How would describeThe Innocents

The Innocents is kind of a collection of secular songs. It’s sort of about getting over your firsts of everything, being an adult in your late teens and early 20’s. That was about the time I wrote it, in my early 20’s. It’s kind of just getting over some of the myths you created with adulthood. It’s kind of the concept of the innocence, someone being unaware that their intentions to avoid getting hurt- these things happen no matter what.

The word truth comes up a lot in the description of your new album. What’s an undeniable truth you have learned over the years?
Everything changes. It’s sort of seen as this scary thing but it’s a totally beautiful process. Sometimes we don’t understand that.

What’s a big change in your life you have really come to appreciate?
You kind of change on your level of acceptance for yourself. You can be resistant towards allowing yourself to be who you are for a long time. You can change your perspective on yourself, which is kind of the greatest thing. This change can happen your whole life.

Your new song “Some Winters” is gorgeous, but from the sounds of it we’re not talking about a cheery Winter love song…
No, it’s kind of a downer. It’s about the end of a really intense relationship. It coincides with this concept of Winter: it’s like a desolate time in the relationship. All relationships have their Winter even if they don’t end.

Can you name any other women in music that you admire or would want to collaborate with?Julia Holter is awesome.

What would we find on your “recently watched” on Netflix or binge t.v. show recommendations you would give a friend?Dark Shadows. It’s really spooky, super long. There are like hundreds of episodes. It’s like a filmed on-set live t.v. show, so if they make a mistake you would catch that. It’s sort of like proto-goth, haunted stuff.

Sounds like a great recommendation for Fall!
It’s essentially supposed to be scary but it’s kind of funny. You can waste hours and hours trying to get through all of Dark Shadows. Definitely great for Fall. A Fall binge.

What is next for Weyes Blood?
I’m going to be playing shows with a full live band in New York. So just translating the record for live performance. It’s really exciting with the live band and we’re also going to be putting out some music videos.

About The Author: Shannon Kurlander

Shannon Kurlander hails from the blazing desert of Tucson, Arizona and now calls NYC home. When she's not writing about women conquering the music industry, she's conquering it herself at Baby's All Right, Elvis Guesthouse, Terrorbird Media and with her own music. Follow Shannon on Instagram and Twitter .

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